Ross speaks on topics including Indonesia, Bali, Cancer and wellness. Also on social matters within our community.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

By hook or by crook, we need to rebuild trust between Indonesia and Australia

By Ross B. Taylor AM

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has calculated that
despite the anger and complaints from Indonesia, his ‘no comment’ line on the
allegations that Australia paid-off people smugglers will not cost him any
votes, and may actually increase the popular perception that Australia will
continue to be tough on issues surrounding our borders and sovereignty under
his leadership. He is probably right.

Many Australians simply want the boats to remain
‘stopped’, and that our government should do whatever it takes to ensure our
borders are protected. People appear to also embrace the position that by hook
or by crook - meaning the achievement of a particular goal or objective
irrespective of any moral consideration - the PM will do what is in Australia’s
best interest, even if this upsets our neighbours.

Meanwhile, under the presidency of Joko (Jokowi)
Widodo, Indonesia appears ambivalent about Australia as they focus on building
closer relationships, and business and trade links, with Asian countries to its
north. The very conservative Jokowi is about as Javanese – gracious but with
long memories - as Mr Abbott is a shirt-fronting Anglo Saxon, so the
opportunity for building genuinely warm relations between these two leaders
appears limited for now, particularly as Jokowi battles for his own survival
against an astute and foreboding opposition leader, Subianto Probowo, an
unsupportive legislature, and an even more unsupportive leadership within his
own PDI-P party.

It is therefore not surprising that the Abbott
Government appears resigned to letting the bi-lateral relationship just ‘bumble
along’ for now, whilst building a strong domestic case that this government is
all about keeping Australians safe.

We should not be in any doubt that the turn-back-the-
boats policy has worked for Australia. It has saved lives, and it has also
assisted Indonesia in stemming the inflow of Middle Eastern asylum seekers who
were using Indonesia as a transit point to Australia. Mr Abbott is right to
remind Australians, and Indonesia, of the benefits of his policy.

Whether Australia did bribe people smugglers to
return to Indonesia may never be known, just as the claims that Indonesian
local police (many of whom earn around $50.00 per week) were paid-off by the
same criminals, to assist with the initial passage of these asylum seekers from
remote parts of Indonesia, can never be proven.

What the PM needs to be more careful about however,
is reinforcing the position that in the case of Australia’s sovereignty, he
will do whatever it takes to act in the interests of only our own nation, even
if this is unhelpful or unacceptable to our regional neighbours.

Whilst this may appeal to many Australians, such a
high profile position invites our regional neighbours to do the same. President
Jokowi did in fact apply the same principles; that of executing other smugglers
in order to protect his nation’s 95 million young people from the scourge of
illicit drugs. Despite the (justifiable) cries and outrage that this decision caused
in Australia, the president enforced his policy and ignored the views of his
neighbour.

The question then becomes, were both leaders simply
acting in their own sole interest and that of their own nations on these two
issues, whilst completely discounting the wishes and concerns of each other as
they sought to appeal to their respective domestic audience?

As China continues to expand its influence in the
region; ISIS builds and imposes its values and objectives in countries such as
Indonesia, and as the threat of terrorism raises its ugly head once again, it
is clear that we need close co-operation, understanding and a cohesive regional
framework within ASEAN.

Indonesia will soon have an annual GDP greater than
Australia for the first time, and a population exceeding 300 million within ten
years. To treat the bi-lateral relationship lightly would represent a major
error of judgement; both Mr Abbott and foreign minister Julie Bishop are fully
aware of the importance of Indonesia to Australia. Whether President Widodo
shares the same view about the importance of Australia as a regional partner is
a mute point but what we do know is that Australia and Indonesia need each
other, despite our cultural and political differences.

Whilst our PM is right to vigorously defend a policy
that has disabled the people smuggling trade, he needs to modify his rhetoric
about always acting only in Australia’s interests rather than working as a partner
within our region; and particularly on matters that really do count.

President Widodo’s ministry needs to do the same.

Ross
Taylor is also the President of the Perth-based Indonesia Institute (Inc)